


Domestic Life In Dark World

by Higuchimon



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Diversity Writing Challenge, During Canon, Include The Word Boot Camp, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-09-26 20:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17148647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higuchimon/pseuds/Higuchimon
Summary: Living of any kind requires effort, cleanliness, and food.  Living in Dark World isn’t any exception at all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Domestic Life In Dark World  
 **Characters:** Edo, Ryou|| **Pair:** Edo x Ryou  
 **Words:** 250/2,500|| **Chapters:** 1/10  
 **Genre:** Romance|| **Rated:** PG  
 **Timeline:** During the time Edo & Ryou are researching Haou and such. This was sparked by an ask on my tumblr concerning bed sharing, so that will happen. No sex, however. But give me time and the bed will be shared.  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing: GX canon: E9, drabble novel with under 500 wpc; Include The Word Boot Camp, #48, aromatic.  
 **Summary:** Living of any kind requires effort, cleanliness, and food. Living in Dark World isn’t any exception at all.

* * *

The mansion looked quite impressive from the outside. The inside was a different matter altogether. Altogether it consisted of perhaps a dozen or so rooms, but only a handful of them were actually usable. 

And of that handful, only one of them contained a bed. Or in fairness, _room_ for a bed. At least once they disposed of what was already there. 

Edo prodded the pile of moss and branches with the tip of his shoe, a frown tugging at his lips. 

“How are we going to get this out?” Whatever had settled this in here hadn’t come back in so long that fresh moss and somewhat aromatic mold grew around the pile. He wasn’t surprised to find that even here, there was enough of a leak in the ceiling so that the room required repairs. 

Hell Kaiser stared thoughtfully at the pile before he offered an answer. 

“We can get a tarpaulin from one of the villages and drag it out. We’ll need something to clean and repair this place if we’re going to stay here.” 

Edo couldn’t deny that, even though he wanted to. They needed to stay _somewhere_ and they didn’t have any money to rent a room. No one else seemed to live in the area and they needed a base. He didn’t like it but their options were too limited. 

“So what are we going to trade for a tarp?” Edo smirked. “Or for a bucket and hot water and everything else that we need?” 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** I think I will like this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Words:** 500/2,500|| **Chapters:** 2/10

* * *

_Does he expect me to answer that?_ Ryou snorted to himself before he indicated the small pile of duel disks they’d brought along and dumped by the door. Neither of them really wanted to lose track of those, for multiple reasons. 

“Trade,” he pointed out. “Some of those cards might be worth a good trade.” 

Edo understood. Ryou knew he didn’t need to point it out in specific detail. 

He checked around the room again. This would be the closest thing they had to a bedroom in all of the mansion. There was a fireplace, though it didn’t look as if it had been used in some time. Someone would have to check to see if it were ventilated properly. 

They would also need food. So far they’d managed with foraging, but that wouldn’t last forever. So some of the cards would have to be traded for that. They would have to investigate the kitchen here to see what facilities it had. He didn’t expect that it would be what Obelisk Blue or some of the hotels he’d stayed in offered. 

Edo eyed the duel disks before he nodded. “The sooner the better.” 

Ryou started gathering the decks out of the duel disks. Edo could carry the disks themselves. They might be worth something. 

Going down the stairs, his heart twitched. Not quite enough to make him stop, but he did hesitate. Edo glanced at him and he shook his head. Nothing to worry about. 

Just running out of time. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Ah, poor Ryou.


	3. Chapter 3

**Words:** 750/2,500|| **Chapters:** 3/10

* * *

Edo allowed Ryou to carry his briefcase while he carried the duel disks: there were only about five or six of them and they didn’t weigh all that much. They’d gathered them from the ruins of battlefields and villages. Whoever struck around here didn’t seem interested in keeping them. 

Getting to the nearest place that involved trading took most of the day. Edo noticed that Ryou’s steps dragged as they drew closer to it and the first thought on his mind was to get a room somewhere. They could figure out what else to do once they’d both rested. 

“I’m not tired,” Ryou insisted, his head held up as high as he could manage it. Edo mentally rolled his eyes. 

“Of course not. But it’s getting late and I don’t think anyone here will be ready to work until tomorrow.” He nodded up towards the comet. “We’ll wait for it to get brighter.” 

One of the first lessons they’d learned was that when the comet dimmed, it was approximately ‘night’ here. People closed up shops and rested, saving most of their work for the hours when the comet glowed more brightly. 

Ryou nodded, though he didn’t look entirely convinced. Edo just guided him towards the nearest inn, wondering who Ryou thought he was fooling. 

The inn didn’t look like anything he’d stayed in before but they could get food and a place to rest. They weren’t going to need anything else from it. Except maybe some recommendations for card traders. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Can you guess what’s coming?


	4. Chapter 4

**Words:** 1,000/2,500|| **Chapters:** 4/10

* * *

Ryou eyed the room they’d been assigned. He’d seen bigger. He’d also seen bigger closets, such as those in Obelisk Blue. The bed itself filled most of the room, with little space to move around in. 

Edo dropped their stack of duel disks in the nearest corner before he turned to Ryou. “Lay down,” he ordered, not taking no for an answer. “We’ll get some rest and go out later.” 

Ryou’s eyes flicked to him before going back to the bed. It didn’t look that comfortable. There was a tiny table where he settled Edo’s briefcase before he removed his jacket. 

The bed was just as stiff and uncomfortable as he thought it would be. He pressed down on it before he stretched out; it didn’t get any better the longer that he stayed there. 

He closed his eyes and breathed, trying to relax. This wasn’t the best, but he didn’t have any other options. One lump rose underneath his hip and another about halfway down his left leg. Through the thin pillow he could feel a third lump. Said lumps weren’t enough to keep him from sleeping, but they were irksome. 

Edo settled in next to him, a silent coil of warmth that made him mentally shiver from how close they were. He’d never slept next to someone before. He wasn’t sure of how to go about doing so. Did they just sleep? It couldn’t be but so hard. What else could they do? 

What else could he do? 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Ryou has never had to share a bed. He doesn’t know the rules.


	5. Chapter 5

**Words:** 1,250/2,500|| **Chapters:** 5/10

* * *

_He’s warm._ Edo retained vague memories of sleeping in the same bed as his father. But unsurprisingly sharing a bed with Hell Kaiser was vastly different. 

For one thing, Ryou was a great deal taller than his father. More slender, though. Edo even thought he’d lost weight since their first encounter. 

Ryou would claim that he hadn’t, but Edo didn’t believe that. But the way his clothes hung on him, the way he paused every now and then, hand pressed to his chest… Edo wasn’t stupid.. 

He wanted to sleep but the sensation of another presence there prevented that. Every time he edged closer to the edge of relaxation, Ryou shifted and Edo’s eyes popped open again, as awake as he’d been when they’d arrived. 

A tiny breath of sense told Edo it would be better if he got up and made himself a bed on the floor. What kept him from doing so was the simple fact that he had nothing to make a bed _from_. Not to mention there wasn’t really enough room even for him to sleep there. It was here or nowhere else. 

So he stretched himself out yet again and closed his eyes, determined to get some sleep. 

Warm. Long. Peaceful. Those weren’t words that he always especially associated with Hell Kaiser. Perhaps _long_ , given his height, but warm? Peaceful? Not in the slightest. 

But there it was. There _he_ was. Edo couldn’t shake the strange fact that Hell Kaiser was somehow comfortable against him. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** They’re both enjoying this. Even if they don’t quite know how. Or why.


	6. Chapter 6

**Words:** 1,500/2,500|| **Chapters:** 6/10

* * *

Edo didn’t know when he fell asleep. He knew that some time later, the light in the room had increased and he found himself aware again of what was around him. Or in technical truth, who lay next to him. 

He could feel that something was somewhat different from when he’d fallen asleep. That wasn’t a surprise; he’d always tossed and turned while he slept. He’d started this time with his back to Kaiser and his focus on the whitewashed wall, drifting off to thoughts about the cracks there and how old this place was. 

Slowly he opened his eyes. He expected to see Kaiser, so that wasn’t a surprise. What was a surprise was that Ryou’s eyes were open and watching him, a faint puzzle of confusion in their depths. 

_Those eyes..._ He’d seen Ryou’s eyes many times before and seen a myriad of emotions boiling in them. Confidence, broken confusion, absolute determination, curiosity, and many others. But this look now was one that he’d never seen before and Edo wondered if he should do anything about it. 

Then Ryou flipped himself over and sat up. Whatever was going through his mind he said nothing about it, rising to his feet and reaching for his coat. 

“Let’s go.” That was all he said. Edo didn’t argue, pushing all thoughts of what he saw in those eyes to the side and tidying himself before he headed for the pile of duel disks. 

They would have to talk about this. Eventually. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Who wants to guess what Ryou is thinking? Because next chapter will reveal it (I think. Unless Ryou doesn’t want to talk to me.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Words:** 1,750/2,500|| **Chapters:** 7/10

* * *

Ryou hadn’t watched someone sleep before. At least, he hadn’t watched them and enjoyed the experience. He’d seen Fubuki doze off in class or in the middle of homework and all he’d felt then was a bit of annoyance. 

When he’d opened his eyes to discover he’d turned over in his sleep and Edo lay next to him, breathing quietly, eyed closed, features still, he’d not been able to pull his attention away. 

_He looks… restful._ Ryou hadn’t thought before that Edo could look like that. Edo always looked alive, fierce, mocking, serious. If he smiled, then he plotted deadly and beautiful torment. 

Truth to tell, Ryou liked that about him more than he liked this restful expression. He liked whatever told him that something was going on behind those sky-blue eyes, and that whatever it was would likely be sharp and incisive and damaging to those who deserved it. 

He liked the idea that Edo remained even more deadly than he himself. 

But to see him like that wasn’t _unpleasant_ by any means. Nor was the sense of sleeping next to him. As much as he hadn’t watched someone sleep, he’d never slept next to someone either. 

Edo curled up when he slept, forming a tiny ball of vibrating warmth that occasionally flipped from side to side. Ryou hadn’t noticed while he’d slept, but once he woke, Edo turned over at least two or three times. 

_Energy._ That was what Edo was. Ryou couldn’t deny that he liked that. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Are they going to do more than consider each other? Probably not. This is Dark World, after all, and they’re both rather new to softer emotions. And Ryou is kinda _dying_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Words:** 2,000/2,500|| **Chapters:** 8/10

* * *

Edo knew how to bargain. It took an attempt or two before he caught on to how things worked in this world, but once he did, everything became that much easier. Ryou watched in silence, far preferring to observe Edo’s sharp dealings with the card merchants to doing it himself. It was a pleasing sight, after all, especially when Edo casually offered to display his dueling skills on the merchant if said merchant failed to provide them with a fair offer. 

They got the fair offer. A very fair one, indeed, which gave them quite a bit of the local currency, which would cover a load of supplies, from food to random items necessary to set up proper housekeeping – including the taurpalin to clean out their so-called bedroom – and warm blankets which would suffice until they could get a suitable bed in there. 

They wouldn’t stay in that mansion forever, but they would need certain things while they were there. Gathering information to locate their – allies? - didn’t mean they didn’t have to eat or sleep or have shelter from the elements. 

_Should we get two beds?_ The room could be big enough, if the beds were the right size. 

And yet the memory of Edo as a warm curl of activity, close enough to touch, wasn’t one that he chose to give up lightly. Defense and safety came to mind as well, important options to consider. 

One bed would be more than enough. He didn’t think Edo would disagree. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Sure, Ryou. That’s all there is to it. Yup.


	9. Chapter 9

**Words:** 2,250/2,500|| **Chapters:** 9/10

* * *

Ryou couldn’t do the heavy lifting involved in putting their new temporary home together. Edo took care of that, dragging the debris out and scrubbing the moss up from their chosen bedroom, then hauling up their traded for mattress. Ryou carried the sheets and blankets – none of which matched and all of which had to be piled high to make sure they stayed warm – and made the bed. 

He did need help; he hadn’t made his own bed until moving into his apartment after graduation. Edo, as always, knew how to do any number of actions, and soon enough it was all taken care of. 

_We’re sharing a bed._ Ryou wasn’t innocent enough to not know the usual meaning of the phrase. It wasn’t one he’d considered in regards to Edo, at least not until it actually happened. Neither of them seemed to give it a second thought during their trip either. 

Ryou knew he was. He gave it _many_ more thoughts, especially since they’d shared that bed at the inn, and he’d learned how pleasant it could be. 

Getting the kitchen taken care of would wait for another time. They gathered what food they could from the nearby trees and called that good. 

One point they learned quickly was that without battles to fight, information to gather, or places to clean, there wasn’t much else they could do here. The mansion had a library at one point, but no more. So all that remained was to go to bed. 

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** So one chapter left. Ryou and Edo are sleeping together!


	10. Chapter 10

**Words:** 2,500/2,500|| **Chapters:** 10/10

* * *

Ryou lay underneath the blankets, breathing silently, one hand pressed to his heart, marking the way it beat. Soon it would stop. He wasn’t sure of when but he had so much to do before then. Sharing this bed with Edo – having some time of peace – crept higher up the list the longer that he did it. He wasn’t sure of what he should say or even if he should say anything at all. 

He turned over, hand dropping. He wouldn’t let Edo know of his impending death. Edo didn’t need to know. No one did. He would take what pleasure he could find in the time he had left to him. If that pleasure included Edo’s silent presence, then what harm lay in it? 

Edo curled into a tight ball for an endless time before he turned and opened his eyes to see Ryou there, his own eyes open. Far too deep into the dark of the comet for either of them to pretend to get up and avoid looking at one another. 

They looked at each other and said nothing, before both closed their eyes again. Edo found himself grateful for the silent warmth that Ryou provided. He called himself Hell Kaiser and Edo warmed himself at those hellish fires. 

Edo knew many things. He didn’t know how to say words that he’d never said before, especially not words he didn’t know. 

So he remained silent and drifted back into a satisfied sleep in a warm shared bed. 

* * *

**The End**

**Notes:** The fun part about ‘bed sharing AU’ for Edo/Ryou is that it doesn’t have to be AU! Canon provided the perfect setup for it. But this story is done. I will, however, one day write more set in Dark World with these two – many versions of Dark World. Thanks for sticking with me!


End file.
